A Wizard of Earthsea

by

Ursula K. Le Guin

A Wizard of Earthsea: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
In the morning, Ged disembarks the Shadow and arrives in the town of Thwil on the isle of Roke. He tries to ask for directions to the School for wizards, but he has trouble getting the townspeople to steer him toward the place—they either outright refuse to answer him or respond in riddles. Ged eventually makes his way to a square where there is a great building. He enters and finds a small wooden door. Ged knocks on the door and says he is looking for the Warder of the School. An old man opens the door, introduces himself as the doormaster, and invites Ged to enter the School if he can. Ged steps forward—but though he feels he has crossed the threshold he soon realizes he hasn’t moved.
Ged finds himself a little bit out of his depth on the Isle of Roke. The place clearly takes pride in the role it plays as a home for wizards and mages, and Ged finds himself struggling to simply find the School. This demonstrates, again, that Ged needs to learn how to exercise his patience more readily. 
Themes
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Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon
Ged casts an opening spell he learned from his aunt, yet the power that holds the doorway is stronger than the charm. Ged asks the doormaster for help. The doormaster tells Ged to say his own true name aloud. Though in the world of Earthsea doing such a thing is unheard of unless one’s life is directly in danger, Ged speaks his name out loud—this allows him to pass through the doorway. As Ged walks through, he has the sensation that a shadow has followed him inside.
This passage again underscores the powerful nature of true names in the world of Earthsea. True names can unlock doors—literally—but judging by the shadowy premonition Ged gets as he enters the School, they also open the gateway for outside forces.
Themes
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Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
Ged now sees that the wooden door was merely an illusion: the door is actually ivory, made from the tooth of a dragon. The doormaster welcomes Ged and leads him through the corridors to an open courtyard. Ged relishes being in the innermost sanctum of the House of the Wise. As Ged makes eye contact with an old wizard dressed all in white and accompanied by a raven on the far side of the courtyard, he feels a sense of deep understanding of the world wash over him. The moment passes. Ged recognizes the man as the Archmage and approaches him with the letter from Ogion.
Ged is in awe of his new surroundings. He feels that this is the place he was always meant to be. Ged believes that here, in this house of great power and wisdom, he will finally be able to achieve his full potential, and he is anxious to begin his learning.
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The Warder of Roke is known as the Archmage Nemmerle. A very old man who once trained Ogion when Ogion was a young mage, Nemmerle asks Ged to tell him about the seas on the journey to Roke. Ged says that things on the Shadow were mostly calm—except for a terrible storm the day before. Nemmerle speaks some ancient words over Ged. Ged has the sensation of standing in a room full of shadows. Nemmerle finishes and urges Ged to run along.
The Archmage Nemmerle is an old and wise man who seems to be able to learn the whole of Ged’s history—and perhaps even divine his future—with a few simple words. Ged is awestruck but also mildly frightened by the man’s immense power.
Themes
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Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
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As Ged sets out to explore the school, he runs into a tall, pompous young man who introduces himself as Jasper and offers to show Ged around. Ged can tell that Jasper is wealthy, and he is immediately put off by Jasper’s upper-class haughtiness. Ged introduces himself to Jasper as Sparrowhawk. Jasper helps Ged select a cloak from the wardrobe room, shows him the library where books of lore and ancient rune-tomes are kept, and brings him by the humble dormitories upstairs. When Ged makes a remark about Jasper having to get used to living so simply, Jasper bristles defensively.
Jasper and Ged get off on the wrong foot right away. Ged dislikes Jasper’s haughty personality while Jasper resents being teased. The two boys establish a rivalry within moments of meeting one another—a dynamic that will impact both their lives in profound, unpredictable ways.
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A gong rings, summoning the students of the school to the refectory for their midday meal. At the Long Table—rumored to be enchanted to accommodate an endless number of people—Ged and Jasper sit near Vetch, a heavy-set boy even darker-skinned than Ged himself. Ged immediately takes a liking to the sarcastic Vetch. Vetch and Jasper take Ged into town after lunch. Ged is amazed by how prevalent magic is throughout the town of Thwil—even children cast enchantments as pranks in the streets.
Ged’s early introduction to the Isle of Roke is full of competing emotions. He is grateful to be in such a special place—yet even the slightest complication, like his distaste for Jasper, makes him fear he’s made the wrong choice in coming here to study. Ged is clearly in conflict with himself even as he begins what he believes to be the next chapter in his grand destiny.
Themes
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Jasper and Vetch lead Ged up into the lush woods beyond town. At the base of Roke Knoll, a green hill, Jasper asks Ged to perform some famous Gontish magic for them. Vetch urges Jasper to let Ged be, but Ged insists he has skill and power enough to perform any spell. Jasper encourages Ged to perform an illusion. Jasper himself speaks a spell creating the illusion of a stream running down the side of the hill. Vetch picks up a piece of earth and speaks over it, creating the illusion that it is a bumble bee. Ged, heartbroken, says he doesn’t know how to create illusions yet: “We Gontishmen,” he tells the others, “do not play [sorcery] for pleasure or praise.”
Though Ged is hungry to expand his powers and show off what he’s made of, here, he finds himself reluctant to show his hand so early. He doesn’t want to be made fun of, nor does he want to reveal himself to be less adept than his fellow students. He tries to couch his shame in a prideful statement about the proper uses of magic—a statement that is truer than even he knows.
Themes
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That night, Ged lies alone in bed feeling despondent. He regrets having come to Roke. When there is a knock at the door, however, and Vetch comes in to talk to Ged—asking questions about Ged’s youth and telling stories about his own upbringing in the East Reach—Ged feels comforted. He sees that though Vetch is soon to be made sorcerer, there is a greater power Vetch holds: the power of kindness. The encounter with Vetch restores Ged’s confidence. He reminds himself that though his schoolmates are more skilled in illusion than he, none of them have saved a village from destruction as he has.
At the height of Ged’s misery, Vetch steps in to show Ged that he is not alone. Ged’s faith in his own decision to come to Roke is restored—he feels hopeful that he will learn and make friends here as he always dreamed he would. It is easy for Ged to get down on himself or to feel insufficient, but he tries to remind himself of the great things he’s already accomplished, no matter how small they might seem to his classmates.
Themes
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In the weeks and months that follow, Ged devotes himself intensely to his studies with the nine Masters of Roke. Each day he studies the deeds of great heroes and the lore of Earthsea; he learns the art of manipulating the weather; he continues his studies in herbals and healing; he learns illusion and changing spells from the Master Hand. Ged finds that the art of illusion comes easily to him, and he begins deepening his relationship with the Master Hand as he seeks more knowledge. During one lesson, Ged asks how he might learn to change a pebble into a diamond and keep it that way. The Master Hand, however, warns Ged that the art of illusion is not about changing the thing itself. To change an object, one must change its true name: to do that would throw off the balance of the world.
As Ged delves deeper and deeper into his studies, he enjoys learning everything he can about the many different facets of sorcery and magic. Still, however, Ged hungers for greater power. He doesn’t yet understand the careful balance of the universe—and how the use of magic for purposeless reasons threatens that balance. Ged still has a lot to learn about the world around him, even as he plumbs the depths of the magical arts.
Themes
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Cosmic Balance Theme Icon
Quotes
One day, the Master Hand says, Ged will learn powerful changing spells—but he will have to be careful about what he changes, when he changes it, and how he goes about it: to throw off the equilibrium of the world is a dangerous game. “To light a candle,” the Master Hand warns, “is to cast a shadow.” Not all rocks, he says, can be diamonds. After leaving the Master Hand, Ged encounters Jasper in the hall. The two exchange barbs, and Ged finds himself offended even more deeply by Jasper’s haughty, cruel nature. He becomes more determined than ever to outdo his rival and prove himself to Jasper. He wants to humiliate the other boy publicly. He cannot yet sense the darkness in their rivalry—the dark danger the Master Hand just warned him about.
Ged purports to understand and internalize the Master Hand’s words about accepting the world as it is, maintaining the balance of the universe, and being aware of the chain reactions that can occur when one ignores the world’s Equilibrium. Yet when confronted with Jasper and the boy’s cruel taunts, Ged is unable to remember the Master’s wise words—he is consumed only by hatred and a desire to do whatever he needs to do to get revenge and prove himself.
Themes
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That winter, Ged and seven other students are sent to the northernmost part of Roke Island to study at the Isolate Tower with the Master Namer. There, Ged and his fellow students learn the true names of every geographical feature of the cape. The work is draining  and boring, but the Master urges his pupils to accept that if one wants to control the elements, one must first know the true names of that which they seek to change.
Ged yearns for a fast accumulation of knowledge, power, and skill—but instead, his teachers again and again try to impress upon him and his fellow prentices just how important it is to be careful, deliberate, and thoughtful about the spells one weaves.
Themes
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Duty and Destiny Theme Icon
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Quotes
True magic, the Master Namer entreats his students to understand, comes from the Old Speech—many words of this language have been lost throughout the ages, and some are hidden or unknown only to creatures such as dragons. One must be careful when practicing magic to use true names in order to control, change, or influence only the specific thing named in the spell: this is why wizards and mages must be so attentive, so that they do not change the balance of the world and wreak havoc on the equilibrium of the universe.
The Master Namer doesn’t teach the most interesting art—but he teaches perhaps the most important. The Master Namer wants his prentices to comprehend that to recognize and understand a thing’s true nature is the most important part of sorcery. Without care, thought, and deliberation, the universe’s balance is profoundly threatened.
Themes
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Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon
Duty and Destiny Theme Icon
Cosmic Balance Theme Icon
Ged is released from the tower earlier than his fellow pupils: he has learned well and worked hard over the year at the tower, and he returns to Roke with a sense of accomplishment—and a hunger for even more knowledge. On the way back to the school, Ged stops for shelter beneath a tree one night. While he is sleeping, a small animal curls up in his cloak. Ged recognizes the creature as an otak—similar to a small cat or fox—but he knows its true name is Hoeg. Addressing the creature by its true name, he invites it to follow him home and travel with him. The creature stays in Ged’s cloak hood all the way home.
Ged is anxious to get back to the exciting world of the School—yet as he journeys home, his encounter with the otak and his ability to make it feel seen, understood, and wanted by using its true name proves how essential the Master Namer’s instruction truly is.
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Ged receives a warm welcome. Vetch compliments Ged’s otak and states that those who keep wild beasts are those gifted in the Old Powers; Jasper, however, declares that Ged is just keeping a “rat” in his cloak. The Lord of O, once a pupil of Archmage Nemmerle, has come to the school for a feast with his bride in tow. Vetch, Ged, and Jasper admire the Lady of O and enjoy one of the master’s songs as he regales the feasters with old tales and deeds. Jasper performs an illusion for the Lady, conjuring a beautiful white tree and a white bird with a long tail. The Lady begs her husband to allow Jasper to come to court with them as their illusionist—but Jasper insists on staying at school. As the others praise Jasper’s illusion, Ged privately thinks to himself that he could have created a better one.
Ged is so happy to be back at school—and on the cusp of learning more new things—that he laughs off Jasper’s taunts and chooses to bask in the festive atmosphere rather than waste energy being upset or defensive. Still, the threat of Jasper’s cruelty—and Ged’s plans to retaliate against him—linger. Ged is still determined to prove himself to Jasper and to show everyone else that he is the most skilled wizard at the School.
Themes
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Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon